{"id":49426,"date":"2023-05-26T13:16:36","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T13:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:38:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:38:59","slug":"ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past two weeks Ukraine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2023\/05\/16\/world\/russia-ukraine-news\"><u>reportedly intercepted<\/u><\/a> seven Russian Kinzhal missiles \u2013 which travel at hypersonic speeds \u2013 using its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2022\/11\/21\/poland-accepts-germanys-patriot-offer-after-fatal-missile-strike\/\">Patriot<\/a> missile defense system. It is widely believed that Patriot and other current missile defenses could not stop hypersonic weapons, which travel at speeds over Mach five, or five times the speed of sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, what\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The claim that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/88x4bv\/russia-has-launched-a-barrage-of-its-invincible-hypersonic-missiles-into-ukraine\"><u>hypersonic weapons are invincible<\/u><\/a> is one of the many beliefs about these weapons. Here\u2019s why it\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kinzhal is an air-launched ballistic missile with fins that allow it to maneuver as it approaches its target. It is called \u201chypersonic\u201d since its top speed is reportedly around Mach 10, which would give it a range of somewhat over 1,000 km. This system is not, however, what defense analysts typically mean by the term \u201chypersonic weapon\u201d since it is not designed to glide over a significant fraction of its trajectory. Its high speed and ability to maneuver, however, mean that it poses a similar challenge as true hypersonic weapons to terminal missile defenses, like Patriot, that are used to defend against weapons of this range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A maneuvering missile traveling at Mach 10 would be too fast for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2022\/12\/21\/white-house-announces-patriots-for-ukraine-amid-zelenskyy-visit\/\">U.S. Patriot<\/a> PAC-3 and similar defense systems to intercept reliably. However, Mach 10 is roughly Kinzhal\u2019s maximum speed, and its speed drops sharply as it reenters and travels through the increasingly dense atmosphere to hit a target on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Patriot is designed to intercept missiles at low altitudes, and my estimates show that Kinzhal slows enough during its dive that current versions of PAC-3 should be capable of intercepting it. Moreover, <a href=\"https:\/\/aviationweek.com\/defense-space\/missile-defense-weapons\/pac-3-mse-was-testing-time-kinzhal-shoot-down\"><u>reports<\/u><\/a> indicate that at least for the first of the Kinzhal intercepts, Ukraine was not using the most advanced version of the PAC-3 (called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lockheedmartin.com\/content\/dam\/lockheed-martin\/mfc\/documents\/pac-3\/2022-01-05_LM_PAC-3_MSE_Overview.pdf\"><u>MSE<\/u><\/a>, which is 25 percent faster than the previous version).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis has two important implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, Ukraine\u2019s claims that it intercepted Kinzhal missiles are credible, and its defenses may be able to blunt a significant weapon in Russia\u2019s arsenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Second and more generally, the medium-range hypersonic glide weapons like those the United States, Russia, and China are currently developing may not be as effective at performing key mission as advocates often claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A common argument for building hypersonic weapons is the desire to use them to destroy enemy missile and air defenses early in a conflict, to clear the way for subsequent attacks. Technical modeling, however, shows that the hypersonic weapons the United States has been developing \u2013 including the <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R45811\"><u>Air-Launched Rapid Response hypersonic Weapon (ARRW)<\/u><\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/IF\/IF11991\"><u>Army\u2019s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW)<\/u><\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dote.osd.mil\/Portals\/97\/pub\/reports\/FY2022\/navy\/2022cps.pdf?ver=rM3UBeqUAOCYend4aZV-ZA%253D%253D\"><u>Navy\u2019s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS)<\/u><\/a> \u2013 may also be vulnerable to interception by missile defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In particular, reports about the speeds and ranges of these weapons imply that they begin the glide phase of their trajectory with a speed of about Mach 12 or less. Their speed decreases due to atmospheric drag during the glide phase \u2013 especially if they are maneuvering significantly \u2013 and will decrease even further as they dive into the thick atmosphere on their way to their targets on the ground. My estimates show that these effects will likely make these systems vulnerable to interception by systems similar to current versions of PAC-3, although intercepting them may require the advanced PAC-3 MSE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The United States must assume it will face defenses like these in other countries \u2014 soon if not now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be able to evade such defenses, hypersonic weapons would need to be launched with even higher speeds. Doing so would significantly increase the intense heating they experience during flight, which is a key obstacle to developing these weapons. Increasing their speed also makes them larger and heavier, which reduces the number that aircraft can carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adding propulsion, such as scramjet engines being developed for hypersonic cruise missiles, could help the weapon maintain its speed during the glide phase. But these engines are unlikely to be powerful enough to help much against the exponentially increasing drag encountered during the dive phase, which could leave these weapons vulnerable to interception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons similar to these U.S. systems (such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/crsreports.congress.gov\/product\/pdf\/R\/R45811\"><u>Russian Zircon and Chinese DF-ZF and Starry Sky 2<\/u><\/a>) are also likely to be vulnerable to defenses like PAC-3. In this sense, these weapons do not represent a revolution in threat beyond that posed by medium-range ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States. Congress and the U.S. military need to think clearly about the missions these weapons can realistically accomplish and whether they justify the high priority and budget share they are getting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>David Wright is a visiting scholar in the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering\u2019s Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":17,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,11,36,17],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4445],"class_list":["post-49426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"C53LG5NEVJDBFIKBTE463PD4A4","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-26T13:16:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T18:38:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Wright\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Wright\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-05-26T13:16:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:38:59+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 805,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Global\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Opinion\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-05-26T13:16:36+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:38:59+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/26\\\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Opinion\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/opinion\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"opinion\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Defense News\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/defensenews-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Defense News\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype - Defense News","description":"The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype","og_description":"The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/","og_site_name":"Defense News","article_published_time":"2023-05-26T13:16:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T18:38:59+00:00","author":"David Wright","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Wright","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype","datePublished":"2023-05-26T13:16:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T18:38:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/"},"wordCount":805,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Global","Newsletters","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/","name":"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype - Defense News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-26T13:16:36+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T18:38:59+00:00","description":"The Ukrainian experience with Kinzhal may be a wake-up call for Russia. It should also be a wake-up call for the United States.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/2023\/05\/26\/ukraines-kinzhal-intercepts-should-cool-hypersonic-hype\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Opinion","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/opinion\/","ad_zone":"opinion"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Ukraine\u2019s Kinzhal intercepts should cool hypersonic hype"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","name":"Defense News","description":"Covering the politics, business and technology of defense | Defense News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#organization","name":"Defense News","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/defensenews-logo-white.png","caption":"Defense News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23109448111261.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Defense News","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49429,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49426\/revisions\/49429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49426"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=49426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}